Page 8 of The Alpha’s Forced Rejected Mate (Silverlight Valley Alphas #1)
Oh shit. Fuck.
Luna’s lungs burned as she ran blindly into the storm. Her boots thumped against the damp pavement, raindrops splashing beneath her feet with every desperate stride.
Keep moving. Don’t stop. He’s still behind you.
The rational part of her brain knew she couldn’t outrun an alpha werewolf—especially not one like Dominic Blackwood. Six years ago, he’d been the most formidable wolf in the pack.
Now? The wolf he’d been in the past was a mewling puppy compared to the now cold, cunning predator she had seen in the parking lot. She scurried, staying in the shadows, along a little lane between two brick buildings. She was sure he could follow her by the sound of her pulse pounding alone.
Think, Luna. You prepared for this. You knew they’d find you eventually.
But she hadn’t prepared for him. Not Dominic. Anyone but him.
She might have gone back with a member of the Silverlight Valley Pack, but she would not willingly go to some vague Council.
Luna pressed her thumb against a small tattoo on her wrist, feeling the latent magic respond to her touch. It was a protection sigil she’d inked herself three years ago.
If she could just make it to her safe house, she could activate the concealment wards she’d set up. Even the most skilled hunter wouldn’t be able to find her there.
The rain should have washed away her scent trail by now. He shouldn’t be able to find her unless the mate bond was still—
No.
That bond had been broken the moment he’d called her an abomination and ordered her to leave. Luna hadn’t survived six years on her own by clinging to false hopes.
Luna had memorized every escape route when she’d first moved here, had planned for a day she prayed would never come.
After twenty minutes, she approached the abandoned railway depot on the outskirts of town and slowed to a careful stroll. Years ago, the century-old brick structure was supposed to be demolished, but local preservationists had slowed down the process with many court cases.
For now, it remained empty—except for the small back room Luna had secretly converted into an emergency shelter.
She crept around to the building’s rear entrance, casting glances over her shoulder. No sign of pursuit. The drumming rain had settled into a steady drizzle, the storm moving east. Luna allowed herself to hope that maybe—just maybe—she’d lost him.
No one knew of this place.
After Luna uttered a silent spell, the rusting door’s padlock clicked open. Slipping inside, she adjusted her eyes to the darkness.
Decades of dust covered everything, except for the nearly invisible trail Luna had carefully maintained to the storage room at the back.
She whispered a second spell to detect any presence in the building.
Nothing registered.
Luna exhaled a shaky breath and moved toward her sanctuary. Once inside, she could activate the protective wards, gather her emergency supplies, and be gone before dawn. She’d start over somewhere new—again.
Change her name, her appearance—again.
Maybe Alaska this time? Or Canada?
Somewhere cold, where even werewolves would think twice about tracking prey.
The storage room door was exactly as she’d left it three days ago when she’d last checked her emergency supplies. Luna pushed it open and reached for the light switch—a battery-powered lamp she’d installed herself.
“Fuck!” she cursed when the light came on.
Dominic rested against the far wall of her purportedly private haven while the light continued to flicker. His dark clothing was drenched through and stuck to his body’s hard angles. His steel-gray eyes watched her with predatory intent, glinting in the low light.
“How—” Luna took a step back towards the door. “How did you find this place?”
Dominic pushed away from the wall. “Do you really think I work alone? My team has been watching you for weeks. They’ve mapped every route you take, every place you visit.” His lips curved into a cold smile. “You’re good, Luna. But we’re better.”
Luna’s mind raced. Weeks? They’d been watching her for weeks? So it hadn’t been paranoia after all when she’d felt she’d been watched.
She gathered her magic, feeling it hum beneath her skin. “Stay back.”
“Or what?” Dominic took another step toward her. “You’ll bring the building down on both of us?”
“If I have to.”
“You’ve changed,” he said, his voice softening imperceptibly.
“You haven’t,” Luna shot back. “Still a good little hunting dog.”
His expression hardened, and Luna knew she’d struck a nerve.
Good.
She needed him angry, needed him emotional. It was the only advantage she might have.
She lunged for the door, yanking it open, and found herself facing a containment field.
The power sizzled against Luna’s skin as her palm crashed against it.
From right behind her, Dominic’s voice whispered, “Like I said.” His breath was warm against her neck. “We have been observing you. Making plans. Getting ready.”
Luna spun around, caught between Dominic’s commanding figure and the barrier. Suddenly, the tiny space felt unbelievably small.
“The Council wants all witches contained.” Dominic took another step closer, crowding her against the barrier. “But you’re…special. You’re connected to something bigger. Something that’s killing my hunters.”
Luna’s eyes widened. “I haven’t killed anyone!”
“Maybe not directly.” His gaze roamed her face, searching. “But your magic is linked to what’s happening. And I need to know how.”
“I don’t know what you’re talking about,” Luna insisted. “I’ve been hiding for six years, trying to live a normal life. I don’t use my magic except for protection or helping people. I’m harmless.”
“No magic is harmless,” Dominic countered, though something in his expression had shifted.
Luna hissed, “That’s fear. It’s—”
Her words got caught in her throat when Dominic’s hand grabbed her upper arm.
They both felt a shock of electricity from the contact, the same distinct charge she had experienced when they had first touched six years prior. Luna let out a cry, instinctively grabbing for him as her power surged in reaction.
As if smelling her for the first time, Dominic’s nostrils flared, and his pupils dilated. His hold became firmer; not painful, but unforgiving.
He cautioned, “Don’t,” but Luna couldn’t determine if he was addressing her or himself. Luna’s back was crushed against the containment barrier as she wrenched away from his touch. There was nowhere to go. No place to hide.
“I don’t know what this is about, but I am not coming with you,” she stated firmly. “I refuse to help or hand over my powers to you or the Council.”
Then she attempted to run. It was a foolish move. Dominic’s arms encircled her waist and threw her to the ground. With his body cushioning hers, Dominic twisted midfall to absorb the brunt of the shock as they crashed down together.
The unexpected consideration startled Luna more than the tackle itself.
For a heartbeat, she lay stretched across his chest, their faces inches apart and his arms still wrapped around her. She could see silver flecks in his gray eyes and the darkening scruff on his jaw from this close.
Luna attempted to escape again, but Dominic rolled and reverted their positions with fluid ease. She was imprisoned beneath him, his massive thighs straddling her hips and his hands seizing her wrists, forcibly pressing them against the dusty floor.
“Stop resisting me,” he hissed, his face hovering over hers. “You’ll only hurt yourself.”
“Like you care,” Luna snarled, bucking beneath him.
The movement brought their bodies into more contact, and they both froze as another charge of energy crackled between them.
Luna sensed her power reacting to him. Even worse, after years of not feeling anything, she sensed something inside of her waking up, hungry and desperate.
No, no, no. This can’t be happening. Not now. Not with him.
Dominic’s pupils had widened until there was just a narrow ring of gray left, and his breathing had become labored. When his chest touched hers, Luna could feel his heart pounding.
“Please,” Luna muttered, not sure what she was begging for. “Let me go.”
A thought crossed Luna’s mind that he might just lean down and kiss her. That he might give in to whatever was developing between them, something that was unquestionable and electric.
Instead, a chilly mask slid into place and his face hardened. “I can’t do that.” He reached into his pocket and pulled out the sedative, one hand still trapping both of her wrists. She summoned her power to the surface, resuming her struggle as her eyes widened in panic.
“Stop it!” Feeling the strength build up in her fingertips, she sobbed. “Please, Dominic—”
He responded, “I’m sorry,” and for a brief moment, Luna believed she saw sincere remorse in his eyes.
“I have orders,” he said bluntly as he put the gadget to her throat.
She heard a gentle hissing sound, and Luna experienced a chilling sensation that numbed her senses and weakened her bond with her magic.
As darkness began to creep in from the corners of her vision, she managed to mumble, “Damn you, Dominic.”